2 Jul 2011

Eleven dead in Afghan bus bombing

8:48 pm on 2 July 2011

Eleven members of an Afghan family were killed by a roadside bomb that struck their minibus in southern Afghanistan.

The group - five men, four women and two children - were thought to be Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan through the volatile, remote province of Zabul.

The area borders Pakistan, where militants who strike in Afghanistan are known to have hideouts.

The attack in Shamalzai district of Zabul province comes two days after another roadside bomb killed 13 civilians and wounded 33 in southwestern Nimroz province.

Roadside bombs are a frequent cause of casualties among civilians, who are the biggest victims of the war in Afghanistan.

The United Nations says 2,777 people were killed last year, the highest total since the war started in 2001.